There has been a boatload of rumors lately about the PowerPC 970 actually being in production... but since they're always from the same sources (especially a French one...just kidding ) it doesn't mean too much.<br><br>But, how about this article at arstechnica "the PC enthusiast's resource". There is a long, two part technical article about the 970, its performance, comparisons, etc.<br><br>Some interesting sections in it if you don't want to read it:<br>The fact that the Altivec unit was slapped onto the design, leaving some room for improvement in future iterations, leaves no doubt that the 970 achieved its present form under pressure from Apple and that Apple will be rolling out systems based on the new processor. This is the most plausible and reasonable explanation for the way the vector unit looks. If the 970 were solely intended as a Linux desktop platform for IBM, they would've preferred to reduce the 970's die size, power consumption, time-to-market, etc. by just leaving out the Altivec unit altogether, instead of shoehorning it into the design the way they did.<br><br>and this:<br>Finally, as I've mentioned a number of times in this article and in other places, the 970 is made for SMP designs. So I look for the top-end 970 machines from both Apple and IBM to be dual-processor right out of the gate. And in fact, I would expect that machines with four processors and more are in the works from both companies.<br><br>Finally, turning once again to Apple's use of the 970, I believe that Apple is poised for a huge overhaul of its hardware line based on this processor and a renewed relationship with IBM. I'm finally convinced that Apple's days of wandering in the wilderness with Motorola are over, and that personal computer users will be able to see the Mac as a real option again in terms of desktop, and not just portable, performance.<br><br>Whoa, let the quad processor rumors start up again. MOSR will be so pleased <br><br>The greatest thing though is that it is nice to see a "non-Apple rumor" site completely convinced that Apple is going to use the 970. Now, hopefully the other rumors are correct and these machines are being built!<br><br>

It would appear by looking at the rumor sites and this tech doc that Apple is further along than most (including myself and my "sources") thought. It would be lovely if they released a 970-based PowerMac with a new enclosure by June as anticipated by the rumor sites. Unfortunately, I won't be ready for an upgrade to my system until next year. <br><br><br>Click here to visit me.

Ahhh, but that depends on what "ready for an upgrade..." means! <br>My wife certainly differs in opinion on what "ready" means, and I may just have to risk divorce for one of these.<br><br>On the bright side of waiting though, it sounds like the days of ridiculous 150MHz "speed bumps" by Motorola are finally coming to an end. From what I've read this processor and its successor are just getting started, but moving fast. I don't think its just a pipe dream anymore to imagine the following timeline for high-end macs:<br><br>This summer: dual 1.8 GHz PPC970<br>Next summer/fall: QUAD 2.5Ghz PPC980<br><br>With all the other improvements (full DDR support and room for much more RAM, hypertransport, huge bus speed, etc.) I don't think its easy to even imagine what a system like that second one would be like!<br><br>How about rendering a movie in Final cut, listening to iTunes and chatting with friends on iChat 2.0 video conferencing without the computer even heating up? Its coming.<br><br>

heh heh, I love Slashdot. This got posted over there and as that site goes there are hundreds of responses in a matter of minutes. Even the author is over there taking a good share of criticism of the article.<br><br>

Slashdot <br><br>But interesting news for sure.<br><br>And you're right about differences in opinion between otherwise blissfully married and at-one couples <br><br><br><br>Great wits are sure to madness near allied.--John Dryden, "Absalom and Achitophel"

Yeah, what is the deal with Slashdot? I have tried a number of times to get into the site, but I find it just so unreadable and unusable that I eject within minutes. Is it just me? It such a heavily trafficked and referenced site, that I think I must be crazy.<br><br>

yeah, its the king of geek sites . They actually have a saying that when a webserver goes down it has been "slashdotted", because when a story gets posted there so many people hit the site at once that unless it is a very good high-volume server it just melts from the load <br><br>I've been registered there for almost a year and I think I've posted once. Most of the time I just look around in awe at all the fervant threads. However, its kinda like the 7-11 of webnews, it NEVER closes and new stories are added 24/7. True geeks, baby.<br><br>

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